10 Oct 2008Heskey criticises Fifa over racist abuse

Football Leagues/ Association and Governance

Emile Heskey has today (October 10th) joined England colleague Rio Ferdinand in criticising Fifa's handling of racist abuse among fans.

Heskey was targeted by sections of the Croatian support in Zagreb last month during England's 4-1 World Cup qualifying win at the Maksimir Stadium.

The Croatian Football Federation was handed a £15,000 fine by football's world governing body, but the Wigan striker believes that the punishment was too lenient.

He said: "Everybody knows that (the fine) is not adequate. I respect Fifa but if it happens again they'll have to do something else."

Heskey, who has also received abuse while playing against Slovakia in Bratislava and representing the Under-21 side in Barcelona, urged the FA to use its influence to tackle the problem.

He added: "If you were asking what I'd do, it would be different to that (a fine). Is a points deduction the way forward? Is that going to stop the fans from chanting more, I don't know.

"But they've (the FA) probably got to look at it in a broader picture as well and see where they can help."

Manchester United centre-back Ferdinand hit out at Fifa after the fine was announced, accusing them of "not backing up their words with actions".

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